Generator drive



B. M. LEECE GENERATOR DRIVE Aug. 30, 1932.

Filed Oct. 7, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet l ll lllll'llll.

Aug. 30, 1932. B. M. LEECE 1,875,040

GENERATOR DRIVE Filed Oct. '7, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 :m. a M

Patented Aug. 30, 1932 umrso .STATESFP'ATENT strict.

BENNETT M. LEEGE? on GLEVELAND, oHIo, ASSIGNOB, To, THE LEE-CE-NEVILLE cot:-

:PANY, or CLEVELAND, care, A COREPQRAT'ION or OHIO GENERATOR DRIVE Application filed October 7, 1926. Serial No. 140,057.

This invention relates to a generator drive adapted particularly for airplane use and analogous uses .wherein there is considerable variation in speed of the generator driving aniotor and, therefore, sudden changes in the driving torque.

In equipping airplanes with generators used for ignition and battery charging purposes considerable difficulty had been expe- 1 IQ -rienced in providing a drive or drivin? .Qon

nection between the engine and the generator which would successfully withstand the strain imposed on the driving shaft in overcoming the'inertia of the generator armature when ithe engine speed increases and in resisting "the. momentum of the enerator armature when the engine speed cecreases, the armaof construction and combinations and 'ar-' rangem'ents of parts which will be .described in the specification and set forth in the appencledjclaims. i v

'In; the accompanyingsheet of drawings 1 illustrating the. preferred embodiment of the I invention, Fig. Ishows a generator partly in elevation and partly. in section and equipped withmy improved'drive; Fig. 2 is a sectional view through the coupling substantially along the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side view of one of the parts of the coupling; Fig. 4 is a view, partly in side elevation and partly in sectionof the companion element of the coupling along the line 414; Fig. 5; Fig. dis a face view of; the same looking. toward the right of Fig. 4,, andjFig. 6 is an opposite face view looking toward the left of Fig; 4.

Referring now to the drawings, while the 9. details of the generator itself are not majacent its outer end.

terial to the present invention the generator generally comprises a cylindrical steel frame 10 with end housings 11 and 12 having bearings which support the generator shaft; The field member 10 has pole pieces 13 attached to it; these being surrounded by field coils 14r- The armature which is shown at 15 partly in section and partly in elevation is secured to a shaftvlti whichat the driving end shown at the right-hand side of Fig. 1 is especially supported and otherwise formed to embody the present improvements as will now be exp a ned.

The shaft 16 is formed in two relatively movable telescopically arranged sections including a main portion designated 16 and a hollow driving section 17 having a splined" outer end- 11M projecting beyond the end housing 12 and. adapted to receive a suitable driving member which will be connected to the crank shaft of the engine. This driving portionl? projects through the housing 12 and is directly supported by the ball bearing 18 carried by the housing. Additionally, the driving section 17 supports the adjacent end of the shaft section 16 and for this purpose, it is provided with two bearing bushings 19 and 20, the former beingadjacent the line of the ball bearing 18 and the latter being ad- The shaft section 16 has a reduced port-ion 16a engaging bearing bushing 19 and a secondreduced portion 166 which extends through the major portion of the driving section 17. and engages bushing 20.

Just inside of the housing 12, a positive drve spr ngcouplmg of novel construction.

is provided'tov yieldingly connect the two shaft sections. One member ofthis coupling is formed integrally with the inner end of the driving shaft section 17, this consisting of a disk 21 with inwardly extending flangedike finger-s 22 having a series of equally spaced tangentially disposed slots 23,.in this case four in number.

The companion member of the coupling, shown at 24, consists of a member keyed onto the shaft section 16 and having on its inner side a hub-like extension 25, a flat disk 26 against which the ends of the fingers 22 bear,

and on the outer side of the disk a substantially square block 27, the portions 25, 26 and 27 being integrally formed. 7 7

Secured to the four faces of the substantially square block 27 are four tangentially disposed springs or spring fingers 28 each consisting of a bundleof leaf springs se-' cured to the block by a screw 29 alongside the outer face of the disk 26." These leaf spring 1 her 21 of the coupling.

' to 'thefprecise details and" arrangements Inwardly of the springs 28, the vfaces of the block 27 are cut away to provide clearance spaces indicated at 30 and on the outersides of the springs backing plates3l are provided, these being secured in place by. the screws 29v and their outer portions being tapered outwardly to provide clearancespaces32, V

The clearance spaces 30 and32 allow a predetermined flexing of the outer ends of the springs in both directions, and though the springs are stilt so as to transmit the de sired manner the drivingv torque between the coupling members, they will yieldjsuiiiciently to absorb the shock incident to sudden in} 1 crease and decrease in speed, such as is, en-y 30 countered in airplane practice. 1 Accordingly the arrangement illustratedfpossesses to ahigh degreethe feature of durability and reduces to a minimum the likelihood of breakage in the generatordr'i've.

While I have shown "only the preferred construction, I do not desire to be confined shown, but aim in my 'claimsto cover all mod; ification's which do not involve a departure from the spirit; and scope'of my invention;

I'claim is:

with end housings, an armature and a drive forthe latter; comprising'a pair of shaft sec-f tions jcoaXially arranged f with ap ortion of one rotatably mounted inside a portion of the other-sand including a section carrying the armature, and an 'outerjdrivmg section hav- 1 rnentioned end housing and spaced from'said V armature.

2. A generater adapted particularly for use with a prime mover subject to sudden changes in speed, comprising a vfield v frame having end houslngs, an armature and a drive for the latter," including two shaft sections, one berng the main-section supporting the armature and projecting out through one of the end. housings and" theiother being adrivlngsection projecting through and rotatably r its opposite sides.f

I 1. A generatorzadapted particularly foruse withfl'a primemover subject toFsudd'en changes in speed, comprising a field frame supported by thesame end housing and receiving the end of the'first-nam'ed section so .as to support the latter, and a positive drive spring coupling between said sections and located b t e n aid i q sn nd th mature'and spaced frorn'thelatter. 2

3. A generator adapted particularly for use with a prime moversubject to sudden changes in speed, CQIHPITlSIDg v field member nd, a sald e tions,

lfIIi agenerator coupling for airplanes and thelike, a-shaft com-posed'oftwo sections:

one received in and supported byjthe other, and a couplinggbetweenthesections of the shaft, comprising .two members carried b-yf I in andhaving; a bearing in the outer section,

'ladjacent the line of the first-named bearingy fl 1) sitive "drive spring coup-ling inside cl housing spaced from said armature i and yieldingly connecting the two shaft seethe shaft sections, one having a plurality of} v substantially tangentially arranged spring fingers and the other'havingfs'lots rjeceivingf the outer endsofth'e lingers, so asto openatively'engage each of the on either '5; A sprlng coupling' for airplane g ener -{i- V ators andthe like, comprisingtwo coupling members one: having a block with acentral shaft open-ingand having a plurality offaces, spring fingers secured to said faces and pro- I p JeCting tangentially outwardly in one direc- ,tion beyond the same I in" cantilever fashion I j and having their outer endsspacedlabbut, th fHaving thus described myinvention, what center of said opening, and the othermember:

each spring finger at its outergend;

6. A coupling for airplane enerators and the like, comprising jtwe coupling members ,onehaving a bl'oek and a series of; faees ranged about "the center thereof; spring "fin-f g s f he'leaf pr gtype sec red t js i' faces and proj-ectingsubstantially tangential; ly beyond the block in one direction progres sivelyaround the same, backingplatesat the outer'sides of the spring fingers,-s aid ba cking Plates and a e a f eblockih g tapered Wtions Whlch Infill?t fl ing f tilespingev .QfingerS lILbOtlIdiIfGQtiODS f m normal p h tion, and the other coupling member havingslots to receive the outer en'dsof said spring fingers for driving ,-engagement with either side thereof.

'7. A drive for generators sebjeafte as; i den changes in.speed,'comprising apair of alignedshaft sections, and a cantilever, leaf springattached to one of said shaft sections; s"

and tangentially arranged, the otherof'said shaft sections carrying a cup-shaped memher having a slot in its peripheral Wall slidably receiving the outer end of said spring.

8. A flexible coupling for shafts mounted in alignment, comprising a block carried by one shaft, a disc adjacent one side of said block, a plurality of substantially tangentially arranged cantilever spring fingers attached at their inner ends to said block and engaging said disc, the other shaft carrying a disc closely paralleling said spring fingers on the side opposite their engagement With the first named disc, said second disc carrying at its periphery means for slidably engaging the outer ends of said spring fingers. 9. A generator adapted particularly for use with a prime mover subject to sudden changes in speed, comprising a field frame With end housings, an armature, and a drive for the latter comprising a pair of shaft sections coaxially arranged, said sections having radially enlarged portions Within one of said housings independent of and spaced from said armature, and tangential spring coupling fingers connecting said enlarged portions.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aflix my signature,

BENNETT M. LEECE. 

